Samuel Adams Boston Lager

IMO, Bohemian Pilsners (Czech Pilsners) are ‘defined’ by Saaz hops; particularly on the aroma and flavor of the beer.

Boston Lager uses a fair amount of Noble Hops but the aroma/flavors of the hop aspect of Boston Lager is dominated by the use of Hallertau Mittelfrueh. I don’t know if too many folks know this but Boston Lager is dry hopped with Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops (pg. 225 of Stan Hieronymus’ Hops book).

So, from my perspective and understanding Boston Lager is not a Czech Pilsner by any means solely from a hop perspective.

If you throw in the consideration of the Boston Lager malt backbone (which is defined by the use of 60L Caramel Malt) then IMO Boston Lager isn’t a Pilsner of any kind.

I will return to my prior statement that Boston Lager is an American Amber Lager.

Cheers!

 

I agree, OP. With all of the variety we have today, it's easy to forget a beer that helped get us to where we are today. It's always a sigh of relief to see it, knowing that there is at least one beer I can enjoy in a BMC wasteland.

 

+1 on freshness being critical for the character of this beer. It gets too sweet and malty otherwise, out of balance. How many of you think of it tasting this way, when you grab one at some neighbor's who drinks BMC, but picked up an ancient 12 pack for his craft drinking friends? Or had it at a lame airport bar, with a dirty draft line at who knows what freshness? The problem with only drinking it when it is a last resort, is that you are probably drinking it at its worst. It's a solid beer. Grab a fresh cold can and try it again.

As for SA IPAs, Rebel is ok. They are trying to make an IPA that will appeal to a wide range of beer drinkers. Unfortunately for them, their Boston neighbors to the east at Harpoon already perfected that. Am I the only one who likes the Summer though? I dislike many craft "summer" beers, but I like Sam Summer.

 

If I could only have SABL (and SNPA) the rest of my life, I'd probably be able to live with it pretty easily. I've always considered those two beers my favorite go-to's of the styles.

 

Interestingly, Great Lakes Elliot Ness beer has no Vienna malt, yet is classified by the brewery and here on BA as a Vienna Lager. Brooklyn Brewery's story about their Brooklyn Lager (on their website) references their beer as being in the "Viennese-style", yet there is no Vienna malt in it. It used to be classified here on BA as a Vienna lager, but was changed to American Amber/Red.

Is the use of Vienna malt an absolute requirement to brew a lager in the Vienna style?

 

Get down to Baltimore and get yourself some Blackwing.

 

According to the BJCP style guidelines (see below) Vienna Malt should be used to brew a Vienna Lager. I have yet to brew a Vienna Lager but I personally would not even contemplate making a Vienna Lager without using Vienna Malt.


Cheers!


3A. Vienna Lager

Aroma: Moderately rich German malt aroma (of Vienna and/or Munich malt). A light toasted malt aroma may be present. Similar, though less intense than Oktoberfest. Clean lager character, with no fruity esters or diacetyl. Noble hop aroma may be low to none. Caramel aroma is inappropriate.

Appearance: Light reddish amber to copper color. Bright clarity. Large, off-white, persistent head.

Flavor: Soft, elegant malt complexity is in the forefront, with a firm enough hop bitterness to provide a balanced finish. Some toasted character from the use of Vienna malt. No roasted or caramel flavor. Fairly dry finish, with both malt and hop bitterness present in the aftertaste. Noble hop flavor may be low to none.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body, with a gentle creaminess. Moderate carbonation. Smooth. Moderately crisp finish. May have a bit of alcohol warming.

Overall Impression: Characterized by soft, elegant maltiness that dries out in the finish to avoid becoming sweet.

History: The original amber lager developed by Anton Dreher shortly after the isolation of lager yeast. Nearly extinct in its area of origin, the style continues in Mexico where it was brought by Santiago Graf and other Austrian immigrant brewers in the late 1800s. Regrettably, most modern examples use adjuncts which lessen the rich malt complexity characteristic of the best examples of this style. The style owes much of its character to the method of malting (Vienna malt). Lighter malt character overall than Oktoberfest, yet still decidedly balanced toward malt.

Comments: American versions can be a bit stronger, drier and more bitter, while European versions tend to be sweeter. Many Mexican amber and dark lagers used to be more authentic, but unfortunately are now more like sweet, adjunct-laden American Dark Lagers.

Ingredients: Vienna malt provides a lightly toasty and complex, melanoidin-rich malt profile. As with Oktoberfests, only the finest quality malt should be used, along with Continental hops (preferably noble varieties). Moderately hard, carbonate-rich water. Can use some caramel malts and/or darker malts to add color and sweetness, but caramel malts shouldn’t add significant aroma and flavor and dark malts shouldn’t provide any roasted character.

Vital Statistics: OG: 1.046 – 1.052

IBUs: 18 – 30 FG: 1.010 – 1.014

SRM: 10 – 16 ABV: 4.5 – 5.5%

Commercial Examples: Great Lakes Eliot Ness (unusual in its 6.2% strength and 35 IBUs), Boulevard Bobs 47 Munich-Style Lager, Negra Modelo, Old Dominion Aviator Amber Lager, Gordon Biersch Vienna Lager, Capital Wisconsin Amber, Olde Saratoga Lager, Penn Pilsner

 

I won't claim to be an expert in Vienna lagers, but this is from the BJCP guidelines.

"The style owes much of its character to the method of malting (Vienna malt). Lighter malt character overall than Oktoberfest, yet still decidedly balanced toward malt."

Even Sam Adams uses Munich malts in their Octoberfest for example. I would think if they intended on it being a Vienna lager they would have used Vienna malt. The only thing I see that Boston Lager has in common with that style is that it's amber and uses a lager yeast.

Heck, their Octoberfest is closer to a Vienna lager than Boston Lager at 5.3% abv with its use of German malts. Although it likely falls short on the hop side of things.

 

16 Mile Brewery's Amber Sun is even better. But Sam Adams is one of those beers that just about everyone can enjoy at the very least. My wife's side of the family is mostly light beer drinkers and mine is mostly craft beer drinkers and this was the perfect middle ground brew for our wedding.

 

I hear you Jack, however it's interesting how BJCP goes on to provide multiple examples of "Vienna Lagers" that have no Vienna Malt in them, including, Great Lakes Elliot Ness, Capital Wisconsin Amber, Penn Pilsner. Granted, they haven't updated their style guide since 2008, so recipes may have changed in the beers they list, but it's interesting nontheless.

 

Yeah, it will be interesting to see if those beers remain as examples in the soon to be updated BJCP style guidelines.

On a related note I attended Gordon Strong's presentation on the BJCP update at the recent NHC. It looks like this update is going to be a BIG job (especially considering the amount of feedback that is likely to come in). Do you intend to provide input? Maybe you could recommend that beers like Great Lakes Elliot Ness, Capital Wisconsin Amber, Penn Pilsner ber nixed as examples for Vienna Lager beers?

Cheers!

 

You are so right with that post. It had been a few months since I had a SABL, but they had them in the Cayman Islands at the hotel I was staying at in February. I drank them, but thought they tasted way too malty and caramely than I had remembered and really was sort of turned off. When I came home I sought some out to confirm what I had in the Islands was old stuff. Yup, sure enough the fresh SABL was a thing of beauty as I had remembered. So fresh and clean and crisp and hoppy....wonderful beer.

 

No doubt they'll receive plenty of "input" or feedback on their published update, perhaps especially from certain folks from Europe with regard to Old Word beer styles ;-).

My biggest curiosity is if they'll add to their guide the style known as CDA/ Black IPA / Black Ale, and which style name they'll adopt. Since the Brewers Association called it American Style Black Ale (and BeerAdvocate adopted an abbreviated version of that) I wonder if BJCP will adopt that or go with CDA or Black IPA, neither name of which I am a fan, or if they'll call it yet something else.

 

Exciting times ahead!

Cheers!

 

I have an MJ quote, from the 1996 Pocket Guide, where he says:
"The company's principal product, in broadly the Pilsener style, is Samuel Adams Boston Lager."

He may have been more specific with 'Bohemian' in another guide, but I don't have those handy. 'Broadly' is the right way of looking at it, imo.

I suppose I could see that point, especially if we're looking at it broadly. The caramel malts can sort of mimic the kettle caramelization that would come with three decoctions (I'm assuming most traditional Czech Pils feature an acid rest), and the beer is slanted towards the noble hops.

But, the beauty of catch-all categories like Amber Lager is that it's a great place to put beers that don't really fit anywhere else. Personally, I'm not so fond of watering down styles like Vienna and Oktoberfest by making them more generic, but it does look like that ship is pulling out of the dock these days.

 

In Michael Jackson's beer Companion (1993) He sort of dances about around about Vienna-style, Marzen /Oktoberfestbier. He does make this statement and He is 100% wrong. " Unless the brew is of the Vienna style, the partnership of beer and pizza is merely Italian-American popular romance"!

 

Ha! yeah, I kind of prefer porters/stouts myself. I dunno, maybe he was thinking of adjunct lagers when he wrote that, and gave Vienna as a more 'proper' alternative.

 

Their boston lager is my least favorite beer of theirs, summer lager right behind it. I noted a post above mentioning an artificial taste to it. I think its the water myself. Much better on tap though if I do drink it...but seldom do. However, I do like the winter lager for some reason, along with several other SA beers. For me, the blue moon precedes SA if both are on tap.

 

Thanks for sharing MJ's quote. I had not seen that before.

And I can't disagree with your sentiments regarding the watering down of styles. On the other end of the spectrum, there's more often an "amping up" of styles happening here among American craft brewers. I suppose Boston Lager is either a watered down Vienna Lager (assuming Vienna malt is an absolute must for the grist bill), or it's an amped up Bohemian Pilsner. To say, then, that it's either of those styles "with an American twist", and therefore it's an American Amber Lager, would make sense.

 

I do NOT think there is real hate for it. They most likely hate the marketing, etc.

I still like it, though its never been my favorite SA beer. Its not a beer I would ever turn down even if in that silly glass of theirs. I still usually buy a sixer of stock ale or cream ale at Total wine very month or so.
I think the nobile piles is a very good beer. The porters without spice are decent. etc etc. To me the only thing they ever bombed on were fruit beer, and the old triple bock. I miss the double bock....